I used to think that pre-pooing added too much extra time to my wash day, but once I added this step to my routine, I saw the benefits to my hair in a short period of time.

What Does Pre-Poo Mean?

A pre-poo is a treatment that you do to your hair BEFORE you shampoo it hence the name “pre-poo”. During the height of the natural hair movement around 2008-2012, a pre-poo treatment was described as the way to protect your hair against the stripping nature of shampoo to keep your hair soft and maintain moisture in your strands so that the shampoo would not make your hair too brittle or dry. Usually the early natural hair influencers would tell you to slather your hair in an oil like coconut or jojoba and let that remain in your hair either overnight or for 30 minutes to an hour before shampooing. A pre-poo is a totally optional step. You don’t have to do it to get or maintain healthy hair. I’m just sharing what has worked for me.

Luckily, now that we have sulfate-free and other gentle shampoo options, you don’t need to do a prepoo to “protect” your hair from shampooing anymore. I still pre-poo, but I do it because I retain a lot more length when I pre-poo my hair. Keep reading and I’ll give you all the details!

What Do I Prepoo With?

I use cowashes, clays, or regular rinse out conditioner to pre-poo. If that sounds weird, trust me, there is a method to my madness! I’ve been natural my entire life and I’ve tried many different things, and using any one of these products to prepoo gives me the BEST results.

A Pre-Poo Reduces My Tangles

This is the NUMBER ONE reason I prepoo. I NEVER shampoo my hair when it is tangled. Adding shampoo to tangled hair is just asking for tears and suffering during washday. The way my hair knots and tangles, I need to work out those tangles before I add any cleansing agent to my strands. Using a cowash, clay, or rinse out conditioner gives me plenty of slip to work out my tangles beforehand. Once I rinse out my prepoo, my hair is soft, fully detangled, and ready to be cleansed.

A Pre-Poo Reduces My Breakage & Shedding

Before I started to pre-poo, I would have a lot of trouble with my hair snagging, and my hair breaking off due to tangles. Since I have incorporated a pre-poo, I stopped seeing so much breakage and a have a lot less shedding during washday.

A Pre-Poo Helps Me Retain Length

Because I have less shedding and breakage since adding a pre-poo to my washday routine, I am able to see more length retention as my hair grows. I love seeing the difference that a pre-poo makes in my hair routine.

Products I Recommend

If you want to try a pre-poo treatment for yourself, here are the ones I recommend:

Nature’s Little Secret Fenugreek Detangling Prepoo:

No tangle formed against this prepoo shall prosper! This prepoo has major SLIP. It’s main ingredient is fenugreek which helps to reduce frizz, promote softness, and shine, and reduce dryness. This can be used as a pre-poo or a rinse out conditioner and it will remove any tangle your textured hair could even think about. Best of all, this is a Black-Woman Owned Brand! https://bit.ly/3iXPxHO *This link is an affiliate link which means I would get a commission if you use this link to purchase this product.*

Chocolate Kinks and Kurls Clay Washes:

I highly recommend these clay washes. This is a Black-Woman Owned Brand. They are premixed, easy to use, have great slip, amazing ayurvedic ingredients, and they help to promote less hair shedding. www.chocolatekinksandkurls.com

Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Coconut Conditioner:

You can find this for under $10 on Amazon Prime. This is an affordable rinse out conditioner, with good slip and good ingredients: https://amzn.to/3RkicEo *This link is an affiliate link which means I would get a commission if you use this link to purchase this product.*

That’s all for this post. Thank you for reading and I’ll see you in my next one!